Ranthambore is considered as one of the top rated tourist destinations, famous for its wildlife reserve. I planned a weekend getaway to Ranthambore during the monsoons, which ideally is not the best time to visit the city. The main tourist attractions were closed during my visit to the place. So, this article mostly consists of the offbeat places I visited apart from enjoying a relaxing stay at Clarks Resort Abhyaran Ranthambore.
I have tried to make this itinerary as detailed as possile based on my personal experience. Still, if you have any queries regarding your trip to Ranthambore you can reach out to me in the comments section.
How to reach Ranthambore?
Ranthambore can be reached via all the three modes of transport. The nearest railway station to arrive at Ranthambore is Sawai Madhopur which is well connected with major cities like Jaipur, Kota, Mumbai and Delhi, among others. There is also an airstrip and helipad in Sawai Madhopur which is used for landing private jets and helicopters for VIP travellers. The last and most used mode of transport is road. There are multiple bus service providers that connects the place to major cities in India. I preferred to travel there by my own car, which was a 5-hour journey.
Where to stay?
Ranthambore offers a wide range of hotels and resorts starting from 1000/- rupees a day to 1,50,000/- rupees a day. I stayed at Clarks Resort Abhyaran, which costed around 5500/- rupees a day for two persons with complimentary breakfast. This price is dynamic and keeps on changing based on the demand and holiday season.
My stay at Clarks Resort was a great experience as the staff was quite friendly and it offered various entertainment activities. There was a gaming room with multiple indoor games and also has equipment for various outdoor games like cricket, badminton and football. The place was well maintained with only 35-40 rooms and a really beautiful and scenic garden at the centre, with the villas constructed at the circumference of the circular garden. The place also has a mini farm with a number of cows and buffaloes and a horse, Sundari. I reached the resort at around 2p.m. and spent my whole day at the resort only.
Although Ranthambore is known for its resort experiences, I have also checked for hostels that provides budget accommodations for backpackers and solo travellers. The only option I could find was Musafir on Goibibo, costing around 400/- rupees for a single bunk bed. The pictures of the place looks quite promising and it is also located at the main location, but I didn't get the opportunity to check out the place this time as I was travelling with my family.
Main Attractions-
1. Ranthambore National Park
Ranthambore is famous for its tigers as people get to witness tigers and other majestic animals in their natural habitat. The Ranthambore National Park is divided into 10 zones for sightseeing. It is believed that zones 1-5 are the main zones. Although the probability of spotting tigers are almost equal in all the zones, but this probability varies from season to season. There are two ways of entering the National Park- first is gypsy and the other one is canter. The gypsy is an open jeep with a carrying capacity of six people, costing 1500/- for a person while canter is a open bus like structure with carrying capacity of 20 people, costing 1000/- for a person. Each gypsy and canter is accommodated with a driver and a guide. There are two time slots for safari- 6:30 to 10:00 and 2:30 to 6:00. The timings change during different seasons depending on sunrise and sunset.
The gypsy and canter provides free pickup facilities for people staying in close proximity, mostly within 1 km from its starting point which is Shilpgram- the official booking centre for the safaris. Nowadays, the safaris are generally booked online amd the zones are assigned randomly for all bookings. You can also ask your hotel to book the safari but they will charge an extra commision. The tourists from distant hotels can pay an extra of 200/- per individual for availing the pickup facilities or the hotel provides them this facility free of cost when the safari is booked via them.
I visited the National Park in teh early morning at 6:00 a.m. on my second day in Ranthambore. We were alloted zone 10 which is the least developed zone with very narrow roads so no canters enter this zone. We didn't see much of wildlife except some common animals like deers, peacocks, wild pigs, mongoose and some birds.
2. Ranthambore Fort and Trinetra Ganesh Temple
Ranthambore Fort is situated inside the National Park and has a historical significance. Inside the fort, there is a famous temple of Ganeshji and this idol of Ganeshji has three eyes, thus naming Trinetra Ganesh Temple. This place was closed during our visit as we coincidently visited on Ganesh Chaturthi and to avoid excessive crowd at the temple during the Covid time, the whole fort was closed for a week.
3. Other Temples like Amreshwar Mahadev Mandir
There are many other temples in Ranthambore but a significant one is Amreshwar Mahadev Mandir which is around 2 kms from the Shilpgram. It also has majestic waterfalls and it can be reached after a short hike. Unfortunately, this temple was also closed due to the same reason.
Places I visited-
After getting back frim the safari, we had our breakfast and took some rest. We went for some sightseeing later that day.
1. Sita Mata Mandir
It is located 7 kms from the city centre and has two waterfalls, which looks scenic during monsoons only. The temple is situated amid the mountains and the views from this place is worthwhile when the main attractions are closed.
2. Soorwal Dam
Soorwal dam is around 30kms from Sawai Madhopur. As we had plenty of free time during our visit, we decided to cover this spot. There is no cemented road to reach the dam and it was a bit difficult to drive the car on the village roads but as soon as we reached the place, it gave a really pleasant vibe as it was a no-tourist spot. The calm winds and peaceful environment around the place was the main positive point for me. We also bought some fresh guavas from the local villagers on our way back.
Where to eat?
Ranthambore has some quick fine dines and fast food restaurants which you can try to satisfy your taste buds.
1. Kanha restaurant for dal-bati lovers. I wouldn't recommend any other dishes at this restaurant.
2. Food circle- It is a budget fast food restaurant with a varied menu and above average food quality.
3. Dhonk cafe- The ambience of this place is great and it is more expensive than the regular restaurants. But the hospitality and service provided here are also exceptional. It also has a collection of varied books which customers can read while waiting for their orders to be prepared.
Best Time to Visit
I visited Ranthambore in September which is a monsoon season and is not recommended for wildlife safari. The main zones 1-5 are also closed during this time and only zones 6-10 are open. Zones 1-5 will be opening from 1st October. The best time to visit Ranthambor is during winter season (November-January) for a pleasant weather and summer season (March-May) for watching a great diversity of wildlife in the National Park.
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